Sonko trial: Prosecutor reaffirms Swiss criminal sovereignty

On the second day of the trial on Tuesday, the federal prosecutor and the representatives of the private prosecutors were given the opportunity to comment on the several hours of statements made by Sonko's lawyer the previous day. Once again, a central point was the question of Switzerland's jurisdiction to prosecute the crimes against humanity allegedly committed by Sonko in The Gambia between 2006 and 2016.

Briefly and succinctly, they referred to the relevant legislation of the Swiss Criminal Code, customary international law, the conclusions of the first-instance judgment and a comparable judgment against the Liberian Alieu Kosiah from 2023. There, too, the question of applicable law and limitation periods arose. (Case CA.2025.3)